New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is cutting his Italy vacation short and returning to the state after the death this week of Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, his spokesperson said Wednesday. Murphy, a Democrat, will depart Italy Thursday morning and is expected back in New Jersey that afternoon, spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna said in a phone call. Oliver died after a short stay at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, for an undisclosed medical issue.
New Jersey is pushing an ambitious agenda to move its more than 9 million residents away from natural gas and gasoline to heat their homes and power their cars, in favor of electricity to do the job of both. New Jersey utility regulators are to vote Wednesday on a series of “decarbonization” measures designed to incentivize buildings to switch from natural gas heat to electric. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has said he wants only “zero-emissions” vehicles to be available in the state by 2035.
New Jersey has filed a federal lawsuit aimed at stopping New York's plan to charge big tolls to drive into the most visited parts of Manhattan, arguing that New Jersey residents and towns will bear the brunt without benefiting. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced his state's plans on Friday. The lawsuit against the Federal Highway Administration claims the agency's approval of the plan last month was “misguided” and violates the National Environmental Policy Act.
Crews extinguished the intensely burning fire aboard a cargo ship docked in New Jersey after nearly a week and are now beginning their investigation into the blaze that killed two firefighters, officials said Tuesday. “We can officially declare the fire is out,” Coast Guard Capt. Zeita Merchant, the captain of the Port of New York and New Jersey, said during a news conference in Port Newark. It could be a while before officials know the cause of the blaze that started late Wednesday and left two Newark firefighters dead and five others injured.